Bojan Bogdanovic: The Detroit Pistons are in the process of negotiating a trade with Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic According to several reports.
The Jazz will likely get stretch forward Kelly Olynyk and point guard Saben Lee as a return.
The 33-year-old Bogdanovic averaged 18.4 scores (on the shooting of 45/40/88), 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 31.5 minutes per game during three seasons in the Jazz. He’ll provide scoring and veteran leadership on the Pistons team which could have an impressive starting line-up of players who are younger than the age of 25.
Bogdanovic has played following his breakout year as a member of the Indiana Pacers in 2017-18. He has played in the majority of his team’s games from then on. He’s been the exemplar of the sameness as a floor-spacing forward who has shot no less than 39% in three-point range during the last five seasons. In the six games he played with Croatia’s national team Croatian national team in FIBA EuroBasket this summer, Bogdanovic averaged 19.2 points, shooting 48/39/87 splits.
The Pistons that have not reached the playoffs since the year 2019have featured lottery selections Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Marvin Bagley III and Killian Hayes, as well as highly-rated mid-first-round picks Saddiq Bey as well as Isaiah Stewart. Detroit the general director Troy Weaver, who assumed the role in the year 2020, has made an effort to surround his young roster with veterans, including Kemba Walker, Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel through transactions together with the New York Knicks this summer, as well as the signing of Bogdanovic.
The Pistons are making an effort to qualify for the playoffs in a competitive Eastern Conference field that boasts the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks as teams competing for six playoff spots as well as four spots at the Play-In Tournament. Detroit ended the season with a record of 23-59 and 14th on the East.
Olynyk 31, 31, has a reunion with the former Celtics head of operations for basketball Danny Ainge, now the chief Jazz executive. He was the one who selected Olynyk, who is 6 feet 11 inches tall, as the Canadian 13th overall back in. Olynyk was averaging 9.1 points (45/34/78 splits), 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 19.1 minutes of playing time off on the bench with the Pistons in the previous season.
A 23-year-old Lee was averaging 5.6 scores (43/27/73), 3.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 16.3 minutes over two seasons as a reserve for the Pistons. Lee was in the middle of Cunningham as well as Hayes in Detroit’s depth charts.
The trade also dismantles the Jazz which completed blockbuster deals with All-Star regulars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert this summer. After six straight appearances in the playoffs as well as an average winning rate of 49 at the same time, Utah is expected to be among the top teams to win the league’s lowest record in the year 2023. NBA Draft sweepstakes for the expected No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama
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